There is a poison jellyfish alert in place along the Algarve’s coastline, especially at eastern beaches where ‘Portuguese men’o war’ are being washed ashore after the tumultuous sea conditions of recent days.From this Saturday, March 10, the Maritime Authority says that walkers on many of the Algarve’s beaches should beware as the creatures are dangerous. Monte Gordo and Manta Rota are affected in the east, as are Meia Praia and Alvor in the west.
The Authority says that nobody should touch these poisonous blighters, more properly known as Physalia physalis, which normally float around the oceans using their bluey-purple gas-filled sails.
The Atlantic Portuguese man o’war is also known as the floating terror, is a marine hydrozoan found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Its venomous long tentacles deliver a painful sting, which on rare occasions has been fatal to humans.
Despite its appearance, the Portuguese man o' war is not a jellyfish but a siphonophore, which, unlike jellyfish, is not a single multicellular organism but a colonial organism made up of specialised individual animals of the same species, called zooids or polyps.
These polyps are attached to one another and physiologically integrated, to the extent that they are unable to survive independently, and therefore have to work together and function like an individual animal.
The Maritime Authority was taking no chances in today’s warning, "Its tentacles can reach 30 meters and its venom is very dangerous, so if you see this type of animal you must move away, avoiding contact.”
The symptoms of a sting from this thoroughly nasty creature are strong pain and a burning sensation, irritation, redness, swelling and itching.
Some people, especially sensitive to stings and poison from jellyfish, may have severe allergic reactions, such as shortness of breath, palpitations, cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever, fainting, seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, and respiratory problems.
The Maritime Authority says that if there is contact with a Portuguese man’o war, proceed as follows: do not rub or scratch the affected area – this will spread the poison; do not use fresh water, alcohol or ammonia; do not place bandages on the affected area but wash it thoroughly with saline solution; carefully remove the tentacles, if still attached to the skin, using gloves, a plastic tweezers and salt water; apply vinegar to the affected area; apply hot strips or hot water to relieve pain and, if you are still conscious, seek medical assistance as soon as possible.